I joined a church today

I joined a church today[1]

My wife and I joined a new church today.

There was nothing wrong with the old one – we just happened to move 200klm away. There’s lots of bad reasons to change churches but moving away is a good one.

So, why join this particular church?

There are many churches in our new place, so why chose this one?

The new church passed our core criteria. The Bible is well-taught. The gospel is on lips and in lives. The church has an outward-looking heart with a desire to see people become Christians. It is sensitive and responsive to what is happening in the wider community. There’s plenty of people with whom we can expect to have good fellowship. There’s good opportunity for us to serve according to our gifts and circumstances. It is well led.

These are all important boxes to tick.

The church also passes some other tests. Its local to our home which makes it easy for us to get there and to invite friends and neighbours to come with us. We have family and friends there, so there is an easy entry. It’s belongs to our background tradition, so we should have a good fit in terms of the teaching, style and tone.

So, how are we joining this church?

We turned up on our first Sunday after moving and will do so every week that we are in town. Heb 10:25!

We stayed after the service to talk with people and start making new friends.

We signed up to contribute to the regular funds of the church as well as to a particular ministry project.

We registered for the church’s newsfeed and directory.

We volunteered to host some members of a visiting mission team to lunch in a few weeks’ time.

We will wait to see where we can be useful longer term and then commit to ongoing service.

There’s nothing special in any of this. We are just doing the normal things that are part of being with the people of God.

We did all this because we have learned over the years that people who only dip their toes in a church tend to stay on the margins and then drift on. We don’t want to be spiritual butterflies who flit between churches with the greatest of ease. We want to belong.

A perfect church?

Right now we are enamoured with the new church and it’s a breath of fresh air in our lives.

However, we know that we will soon discover its imperfections and contribute to them. We know the imperfections are there, because they are in every church mentioned in the NT and throughout history. These imperfections come from people like us who are somewhere on the journey between conversion and glorification – we are not there yet.

We know there will be annoying and difficult people whose behaviours may be challenging. They are our opportunity to serve the body and to grow in our discipleship – for growth invariably occurs at points of discomfort and challenge. These have been called sandpaper Christians – they irritate and may hurt, but they help strip back our faults and make us better people.

Annoying and difficult those these people may be, they are part of the body of Christ. The Father chose them in eternity and sent the Son for their salvation. The Son died so they could be forgiven and adopted in his family. The Spirit brought them to life, has kept them in Christ and enables the unique service to each. They have the same destiny as us in eternal life. If that how the Lord sees and treats them, who are we to see or treat them less than he does? How can we gather worthily at the table to remember the body of the crucified Christ if we do not also discern and honour his earthly body in the church (1 Cor 11:29; Matt 5:23-24)?

We know the leaders of our new church will disappoint us at times. Their imperfections will be writ large because they visibly impact the whole body. They will lack wisdom, make mistakes, become wearied and all the rest. But we will still honour our leaders because the Bible tells us so (Heb 13:7) and because they serve the flawless chief shepherd (2 Pet 2:25; 5:1-4). We will honour them by praying for them, respecting their decisions and cooperating with their plans. None of this puts them above disagreement, scrutiny or accountability, but it is a respectful rather than rebellious disagreement, scrutiny and accountability. 

A big call

It’s a big call to leave jobs, relocate, make a new home and entrust our earthly affairs to new professionals.

It’s bigger call to entrust our soul to a new church.

We are careful in choosing the new professionals to care for our earthly affairs and are at least equally careful in choosing those who will care for our souls.

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[1] Written on Sunday 22 Dec 2019

Re-framing retirement

Re-framing retirement[1]

Sidney worked hard all his life. He was well-regarded by his employers, cared well for his family and was active in his church. The day Sidney qualified for the aged pension was retirement day. He quit his job, left his church roles, said goodbye to his wider family and was last seen hitting the highway for a 12-month 4WD trip with his wife.

Sidney’s retirement fits a common pattern in the western world. The years after employment are seen as a time for self-indulgence in the dreams of a lifetime and for spending freely on your heart’s desire.

Such a frame on retirement is uncommon globally and historically. Most people in most places at most times continue in some form of work until they are incapable or until they die.

What is a Christian frame on retirement?

First some foundations:

1.     We are made for work. Work was part of human identity before sin disrupted God’s creational design (Gen 2:15). After the fall, work continues, but is now part of the fallen human condition (Gen 3:17-19). We can expect to work again, with pleasure, in the new creation (someone needs to pick the delicious fruits and harvest the healing herbs – Rev 22:2).

2.     Work is more than paid employment. The world of employment contracts, wages and salaries is a comparatively recent one and is unknown in the majority of the world even today. Even in the west, the unpaid activities of childminding, care of the aged or disabled, community service, church volunteering and such like deserve to be included within the word ‘work’.

3.     The Bible speaks against idleness. Various texts teach those who could work, but choose not to, will suffer for it and don’t deserve sympathy or help from God’s people (eg, Pvb 19:15; 31:27; 2 Thess 3:6-12). All who can work, should have something that they can call ‘work’.

4.     We are made for rest. God provided for a weekly rest day which is a recognition of our creaturely limitations and a reminder to trust his provision for us (Ex 16:1-5; 20:8). Yet awaiting is his eternal rest (Heb 4:9-10).

5.     We are mortal. This life ends in death, unless the Lord returns first, or we are taken up like Elijah (2 Kings 2:1-12). Whether our years are 70, 80 or more we are frail creatures who will return to the dust from which we were made (Gen 2:7; Ps 90:9-10, 103:14-15). We are to be wise about our mortality (Ps 90:12) and especially to remember our creator before it is too late (Eccles 12:1,6-7).

6.     We decline with age. Most of us will have declining capacity and strength as our years pass and death’s shadow looms (Eccles 12:2-5).

What does all this imply?

There is a time to leave paid employment or at least step back. This creates employment opportunities for younger workers and helps refresh workplaces, including in ministry employment. It also avoids the sad picture of the workers who just won’t let go. However, retirement from employment is not the same as retirement from work.

Consider these samples of people who retired from employment but kept working:

·       A widowed librarian left employment in her early 60s and served as a volunteer to establish libraries and train local librarians in an overseas theological college and then two small Australian colleges;

·       A couple sold their computer business, down-sized their home, upskilled as ESL teachers and gave themselves to serve through language teaching outreach to refugees through their local church and on the mission field;

·       An accountant left paid employment aged 57 and, with his wife, became a self-funded missionary using his professional skills in a difficult location and is still serving in his 70s.

·       A finance industry worker left employment in her early 50s for an intentional ‘next chapter’ of serving family, church ministry, some part-time lower level employment, along with hobbies and travel.

·       Two women retired from mental health employment and developed resources in a Christian approach to church-based first aid in mental health.

These people retired from employment but did not retire from work. They are like Moses who served until his death at 120 (Ex 34:7) or Paul who spoke of pressing forward rather than resting on his past (Phil 3:7-14). This is retirement reframed as an opportunity to continue serving.

To balance that it needs to be said that there may be seasons of life when withdrawal from activity for a period of contemplation, refreshment and renewal is apt. Hence early church figures like Augustine and Chrysostom who withdrew for contemplation after their conversions. Or the person who uses long service leave, or the space between employment, or after their last employment to give themselves to rest and to personal improvement of some kind. But then the time comes to again fulfil the creational mandate and work while there are hours in our days (Jn 9:4; 11:9). And so, Chrysostom and Augustine each soon left their temporary retreats to give unwearied work in the Lord’s service as great church leaders.

By all means let’s retire from employment, slow down, and take time to enjoy the life that God gives. But let’s keep fulfilling our garden identity by working in God’s world and serving according to our capacity and circumstances. That enduring work of ours is a thank offering for Christ’s work for us and in expectation of the eternal rest to come when he returns.

There is a time to recognise that the time has come to lay down our labours and surrender to rest (2 Tim 4:6-8). However, many in the western world seem to confuse retirement from employment with retirement from work and seek to enter that rest too early.

The last word is John Piper’s. At the end of a book on retirement he says: Here is my prayer for retirement – Lord, spare me this curse!”.

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[1] By David Burke whose non-retirement dinner as a lecturer at Christ College was recently held.

Re-posted with permission from Australian Presbyterian: https://ap.org.au/2019/12/13/reframing-retirement/

Christmas - all about Jesus?

Christmas - all about Jesus?

At first glance, Christmas is all about Jesus. It’s his birth into our world – a birth that forever ends any sacred / secular dualism. It’s the start of a story that tells how he grew and matured in perfectly obedient humanity. It’s the backdrop to his kingdom ministry which culminated in the cross, resurrection and ascension and which will yet finalise in his return. 

And so, and rightly, there will be Christmas songs and Bible talks about Jesus and prayers centred on him. This is one of those seasons when he is at centre stage. What someone clumsily calls “Jesusology” seems right.

That clumsy word captures a trend in contemporary evangelical church life. To quote a church slogan, for many, “it’s all about Jesus”. At first glance that seems apt, for Jesus is the pivot point in the great plan to unite all things in heaven and on earth (Eph 1:9-10). Without him there is no Christmas, no Easter and no gospel.

However, not so fast!

After a great struggle for shared understanding, the early church carefully defined our Lord as one God in the three distinct persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That teaching is known as the Trinity and gives a key Christian distinctive against the other Abrahamic faiths of Judaism and Islam. “Trinity” is not a word found in the Bible, but is a word coined to try and make sense of the Bible’s teaching about the nature of God.

The whole Bible has a trinitarian focus starting with the work of the Father and Son in creation, over which the Spirit hovered. (Gen 1:1-2; Jn 1:2-3). Even the last chapter of the Bible mentions each person of the Trinity (Rev 22:1; 17). It’s a trinitarian Bible and faith from start to finish.

Christmas is strongly trinitarian. The Son came by the Father’s sending, to glorify him by doing his kingdom will (Jn 17:2). He was conceived by the Spirit and that same Spirit ministered to him when tempted, came upon him at his baptism and was then to empower his preaching (Lke 26-35; 4:1; 14-19). So, while the Son is centrepiece at Christmas he is not exclusively so - his coming is a work of the trinity acting with common purpose.

Our understanding, worship, prayers, Christian life and service are impoverished and unbalanced if it’s all about Jesus to the practical exclusion of the Father and Spirit. No evangelical worthy of the name denies the trinity as an article of faith, but we may inadvertently do so with a near-exclusive emphasis on Jesus.

This Christmas let us join exuberant Mary to whom the angels announced that the child she conceived through the Spirit would be called the Son of the Most High and would be given David’s throne by the Lord God (Lke 1:26-35). There’s her trinity.

Let’s join Mary and have a trinitarian Christmas!

The supper of our Lord

The supper of our Lord

On his last earthly night as a free man Jesus did a gospel-shaped makeover of the Jewish Passover (Matt 26:26-29; Mrk 14:22-25; Lke 22:14-20). The meal that once looked back to the first exodus and forward to the kingdom (Exod 12:1-13) now looks back to the greater and second exodus and forward to its fulfillment in the new creation (eg Matt 26:28-29).

As we eat and drink, we remember Jesus, look forward to the future in him and bind ourselves closer to he who is our host and to our fellow guests. Participation in the Lord’s supper is a spiritual high for those who are in the Lord and who have prepared themselves through word and Spirit. It is a Christ-given provision that holds the gospel out as a visible word. A faint parallel is found in the cutting of the cake and raising of a toast at a wedding or birthday dinner. Our eating and drinking bind us to the host and to one another as fellow honoured guests.

By the time that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, celebration of the supper of the Lord was marred by sinfulness. For some it was an occasion of factionalism and selfish individualism that left some hungry and humiliated, all such that it was scarcely recognizable as the Lord’s supper (1 Cor 11:19-22). In fact, some seemed to eat and drink without recognising the body of the Lord such that their actions were deemed an “unworthy” act that drew judgment on themselves (1 Cor 11:27-30). There is a debate whether the “body of the Lord” mentioned in the text is the crucified body of Lord or his living churchy body. There may be an intentional ambiguity – we are to see both the crucified Jesus and to see his church in him.

So much for abuse of the supper of the Lord in first century Corinth.

How fares the Lord’s supper today?

In some circles, formal ritualism prevails. The supper may be elevated to a high importance in itself. Christ may be hidden behind ritual. The danger is that faith and focus rests not on the Lord of the supper but on the supper itself. Grace is in the supper, not in its Lord. This is one modern version of participating without discerning the body – here, we miss the body of the crucified Christ.

Another modern danger is of heightened individualism. Participation is an individual act of devotion in which the worshipper seeks communion with Lord in the Spirit and is oblivious to those around them. This is another, and opposite, version of not discerning the body – here, we miss the body of the church of Christ

Sometimes today the Lord’s supper is celebrated in such a low-key casual manner that it’s more like a birthday toast than an act of remembering and binding ourselves to Jesus and his church. Indeed, in some places, it seems to be celebrated as infrequently as a birthday. The remembering of Jesus may happen, but hardly in a way that promotes a solemn recommitment and binding ourselves to him and one another.

At other times the supper is conducted in a largely defensive way. The service leader is careful to guard against ritualistic words and explains how the bread and juice came from the supermarket and remain nothing but daily foodstuffs. Further explanations remind participants that grace does not come through participation but through faith in Christ. These points are true enough, but the message can be so exclusively defensive that we are left wondering why we bother participating and what we are doing in a positive sense.

The Lord’s supper seems always subject to distortion one way or another. This is not a reason to abandon it. Rather is time to return to Scripture and think theologically and liturgically. How we can celebrate the supper in a way that keeps it a gospel ordinance that recognises the body of the Lord and binds us to it?

A good churchman?

A good churchman

Twice recently I have heard someone described as a good churchman.

What does that mean?

One meaning of the phrase is that a good churchman is devoted to the institution of the church. This is the person whose bumper sticker reads: My church right or wrong. They are attentive to the ordinances of the church. They know its rules, keep them themselves and do their best to ensure that others do the same. They are measured and avoid extremes. They don’t rock the boat. They are loyal to the institutions and its leaders. They can be relied on. They know and treasure the traditions of the church. They want the church to survive and work hard to that end.

Some of those descriptors are real positives. What church doesn’t want someone who is loyal, works hard, works within boundaries and who is measured in their passion and views?

Others of the descriptors have problems. At its worst, this kind of churchman wants to cling to the past, opposes all change and is essentially the curator of a museum.

However, there is something missing, that reveals a deeper problem.

Read the description again. Christ is the great omission in the above definition of a churchman. The danger is that this churchman puts the church in the place that belongs to Christ and so makes an idol from a good gift of God.

So, let’s redraw the definition of a good churchman and put Christ at the centre.

A good churchman is someone who actively recognises that:

• Christ is the foundational capstone and cornerstone of the church from whom it derives and on whom it rests (Eph 2:20-22; 1 Pet 2:5-8).
• The church is the body and bride of Christ (2 Cor 11:2; Eph 4:11-16; 5:32; Rev 19:7).
• Christ is the head of the church (Col 1:18)
• Christ sets the mission of the church (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)

The texts can be multiplied but their cumulative force is clear.

A good churchman is someone who sees and relates to the church in Christ. He is committed to the church through, in and for Christ. He values the church not in itself but as the body and bride of Christ. His loyalty to the church is conditional on and conditioned by his loyalty to Christ.

To adapt a John Piper poem, a good churchman is someone who says of the church: Let me love you more by loving you less. This means that he stands slightly to one side of the church. He will critique it in the light of and for the sake of Christ. He is jealous for the rule of Christ over the church, for the mission of Christ through the church and for the glory of Christ over that of the church. He will advocate for change that makes the church more the body of Christ and more effective in his mission for the church. His greatest love is for the Lord of the church and not for the church in itself.

Now that’s the kind of churchman to pray for and desire to be – a churchman in and for Christ.

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Lessons from illness

Lessons from illness

Many of us experience life with a high capacity for doing things for ourselves. We delight in helping others and not being a burden on them and protecting our self-esteem. We are largely autonomous and independent.

Me too!

A recent injury and the following surgery saw a swift transition in which all of the above were upended.

                   

The surgery was unexpected and swift. I went for an MRI expecting advice to continue with the physio on which I had embarked. I left with instructions to go straight to an ED. That itself was a reminder of the frailty of life and the contingency of any plans that we make.

Even before surgery the loss of self-directedness and independence was visible as the hospital constrained my movements. I who walked into hospital was not allowed out of bed without a wheelchair and companion.

Post-surgery my dependence was immediate and total. I needed others to shower and toilet me and could not arise from my bed, sit or walk without help. My vulnerability was there for all to see. Strangers came, looked, listened, probed and poked and took decisions for me. I was dependent and directed by others. Even toilet movements became a public topic.

Physical pain aside, psychological pain kicked in. I resented and fought against the descent to dependence. I fought to re-establish some degree of control wherever possible. I sought to contribute to others instead of being only and always served.

And then it struck me. My experience was an enacted parable of modern humanity and the gospel. I kick against losing independence and serving others in the spirit of autonomous humanity – people without God and who are the centre of their own world. Even as a Christian, the spirit of the age demonises me. The gospel is offensive because it starts with my incapacity for any self-help or self-direction. It humiliates my ego.

The old hymn tells where the gospel starts

Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress,
Helpless, look to Thee for grace:
Foul, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

I am naked, helpless and empty handed. That does not sit well with C21 humanity.

But then look where the gospel goes:

Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save me from its guilt and power

Autonomous humanity has an inbuilt barrier to accepting help from others. That’s sad for we humans who seem more made for interdependence than dependence. It’s tragic when it keeps us from accepting the help that brings eternal life.

Sometimes our ego needs to take a big hit to crack that autonomy. It might be illness or some other life event that reminds us of creaturely limitations and frailty. Whatever it takes, it is to be welcomed as being for our highest good.

Only then will we sing this prayer:

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

A life of 9s – 2019. The (possible) last post

A life of 9s – 2019. The (possible) last post

I start this post from the transit lounge of an airport. Fittingly, in terms of what follows, it is an Australian stopover for a few hours between Timor Leste where I have been for the last 10 days and Singapore where I will be for the next four days.

AHEAD FOR ME

From the 31^st of December 2019 I will no longer be a member of the full-time teaching staff at Christ College. God-willing, my wife and I will move to Bathurst to commence a new chapter of life and service. I will continue as a part-time teacher at the College for at least some time, while ramping up my involvement in ministry education at the margins, with particular reference to the majority world. I largely cease to hold office in my denomination.

This post tells the story of how I come to this point and what came in the nine years before it.

THE LAST YEARS

The years since returning to Australia in January 2011 have seen a mix of activities which I categorise under the headings:

·       Teaching at Christ College

·       Denominational ministries

·       Extended ministries

·       Personal life

I will cover each in turn.

Teaching at Christ College

My appointment was as “Lecturer in Ministry and Practice”. That is something of a misnomer. For one thing I also teach in the history and thought of Christianity. For another, as one committed to andragogy, I do not lecture. I seek to facilitate learning by a mix of inputs from myself and others (including students) and classes marked by student activity. Teaching is about learners and learning, not teachers and teaching.

As well as teaching the assigned units, I had other duties such as coordinating the field placement scheme for ministry students, caring for international students and a minor administrative role.

I have really enjoyed the time at College.  From my teens I have been a teacher of various things and was on track for teacher training after leaving school. I first taught in theological college in 1991 and it has been fairly continuous since then, including being adjunct faculty to various colleges in Singapore. Thus, my ministry (and my heart) has toggled between being a pastor and an educator.

Being a FT teacher in a well-led college that underwent major changes was a great learning opportunity. I grew much in knowledge of the things I taught; of theology more generally; of educational design and planning; and of classroom teaching. Interactions with colleagues and students was another stimulus. I generally enjoyed the people around me, made more good friends and it was a privilege to work in such a team.

Some of the major changes at College were outward – with a major building project delivering a purpose-built facility with good affordances for students, visitors and staff. Invariably the new building had ongoing maintenance issues and invariably it changed the inter-personal dynamic.  It was a lesson for me in how a changed physical environment changes human interactions. College also developed a new strategic plan and, from that, revised the major educational offering – the course of training for Presbyterian pastors. This involve developing an elaborate set of graduate attributes (derived from the who and what of a pastor) and reverse engineering from them to course design and learning outcomes at all levels.

It is a great privilege and responsibility to be a theological teacher and to see (mostly) younger students formed in faith and for service. The multiplier effects of their ministries continue for decades. Just to give one example, I have led people through the preparation and delivery of their first sermon – some of whom will be preaching in 40 plus years.

Denominational ministries

The return to Australia took me back to my home denomination - the Presbyterian Church of Australia. Before returning I had considered my level of involvement and determined not to resume my previous levels. That meant a default of not taking ongoing committee etc roles, a default significantly, although not totally, maintained.

Local church Glenda and I joined the Concord congregation of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, which was a Chinese-background church plant from Chinese Presbyterian Church Surry Hills. The church had grown from one campus at its formation in the 1990s to two campuses when we joined and to five by 2019. This is exciting to see but involved a heavy cost on the campus of our membership as the pastor, key leaders and significant members were drawn off for the next church plant. This is a good pain for kingdom growth, but it did lead to some disaffection in the sending church.

Glenda was more involved than I as outside ministry commitments often took me away on Sundays. I have previously been a member of a church led by another pastor (1989-1990). It’s not necessarily an easy gig and my solution is to sit somewhat light to the church by not becoming an elected leader. This stance is informed by the experiences of others in similar situations and self-knowledge of my personality. I expect to continue this as we move to a new church in our next chapter.

Presbytery Part of being a Presbyterian minister is sharing in the courts of the church. On returning to Sydney I resumed active membership in the presbytery where I had been licensed in 1978 and became a full member in 1983. This involved attendance at monthly meetings and filling various duties assigned to me, including chairing the meetings for a season.

It was a thrill to see, and be involved in, renewal in some older congregations who were locked into a death-spiral of traditionalism and to see some new church plants emerge. (That being said, it was sad to see some congregations locked in a death cycle of disconnect from their changing community and shrinking effectiveness.) Each of these renewals and church plants had their own story, which is a lesson. No one model is fit for all renewals and plants. Having good people in key leadership roles is central and then let God write the story that fits this unique circumstance.

NSW Assembly Leaders of the whole NSW Presbyterian Church meet annually over five days in General Assembly. The ordination promises of ministers and elders commit them to be present, to give good attention to the business and to do so in a pastoral manner. Not all do all these, and I have certainly not done all at all times

And so, I went to these meetings, gave attention to the business and was appointed to chair the meetings one year. I sat lighter to involvement then in last years, partly because my time away had changed my perspective on such meetings – they no longer seemed so important. More significantly, it was time for a new generation to lead. In my first year back the then moderator remarked on how the baby boomers (my generation) had to yield to gens X and Y and then to the millennials. I did not always agree with the directions of the new generations, just as I’m sure the generations before me did not always agree with my generation’s directions. There is a time to step back and let God take the work forward rather than join those lamenting the passing of the good old days and trying to cling to power.

General Assembly of Australia Every three years, a representative group of ministers and elders from all parts of Australia gather for the GAA which, within the provisions of a federal constitution, has supreme legislative and judicial powers. I was again appointed a member and came to chair a committee that screened ministers incoming from other denominations domestically and internationally. This latter role meant occasional inter-state travel to chair interview panels, as well as report drafting and committee administration.

I have been an active member of the courts at all three levels over the years and some of that is documented in previous posts in this series. This has involved skills in networking and in knowing and using the rules of the church for strategic advantage. I have enjoyed this. I also expect that I will cease to have a seat in the courts of the church when I leave my college post at year’s end. I will miss this, but it is time to move on.

Extended ministries

More than one person has remarked that I am never content with the one thing in life generally. In whatever I am doing I soon look for adjunct activities that broaden my sphere of action. That reflects a personally restless nature and an activism that seeks to change the world around me. This has good and less good sides. The corollary of this discontent is that I never really leave a place but tend to remain part of the extended family of past ministry situations. I expect that to stand as I move to a new chapter.

The same restlessness happened during my years on the full time Christ College staff. In addition to the wider church roles notes above I undertook local preaching and teaching assignments and was increasingly engaged in majority- world ministry training.

The global activities included:

·       Renewed and continued involvement in the Timor Leste training project where I became coordinator and became involved in developmental processes.

·       Membership of the Increase Association to support Asia-wide church-based training for discipleship and ministry. This saw me present and participate at course-writing workshops and mentor a writing team in Nepal through e-support and some field visits

·       Conducting a teaching visit to Presbyterian Church of South Sudan pastors leading churches situated in the refugee camps of western Ethiopia.

·       Guest teaching in a Jakarta and a Malang seminary.

·       Conferences in KL, Auckland, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Jakarta and Panama City.

In June 2016 I attended a Bangkok conference on ministry training for the majority world. Amidst the hype of a large theologically diverse gathering I heard a statistic that sticks in my heart: there are 2.2 million pastors globally and only 5% of them have any formal training. I know that formal training does not make a pastor and that the lack of formal training does not mean that someone cannot pastor well. However, there is some correlation between receiving training and faithful, sustained and effective ministry.

That statistic stuck in my heart and proved significant in the decisions reported below.

A further extended ministry involved writing activities. I had a few book chapters and journal articles published and co-edited two books in a series connected to my own denomination.

Personal life

The period 2009-2019 saw each of our adult children consolidate their lives. Another one married, and four further grandchildren were born. One child moved from Canada to Australia and another to Canberra. By the end of the period each of our children appeared to have established the settled pattern of their adult lives and we had a good intra-family dynamic.

For her part, Glenda retired from secondary teaching, although returning for a defined period in mid 2019.

We both grew older, passed official retirement age but with no desire to epitomise an older vision of inactive aging. And so, we both continued active in mind and body and look forward to that in the coming chapter. Good health followed both of us, although we are conscious of how quickly this can change as we approach 70.

THE (POSSIBLE) LAST POST

The decision to move to the new chapter as outlined at the top of this post, followed our usual course of decision making:

·       Objective fit:  In mid 2017 I was approached about an overseas ministry position. In the course of considering it our daughter asked: Where are you best used and where are you most easily replaced? That led to a conclusion that I was easily replaced in my College post but was uniquely placed for the expected role of ministry education at the margins. I am largely free of immediate family commitments, my wife is supportive, I am of good health, I travel easily and well, and I seem able to connect effectively across a range of cultures.

·       Sustained prayerful inward conviction: Before the above-mentioned mid-2016 Bangkok conference I already had much majority-world ministry training exposure and had forward thoughts in that direction. The conference catalysed that into a personal conviction that was examined, tested and prayed over in the following years. The mid-2017 approach mentioned above proved to be a diversion in its specifics but did catch the attention of my wife and I to the possibility of a ministry future outside of Australia. As prayers and conversations passed, we were both of a settled view that the path on which we are now travelling was the way to go.

·       Counsel of others: As mentioned in previous posts, I value the counsel of others in decision-making, lest I fall prey to self-delusion. As we shared our sense of the coming vision for the next chapter, comments confirmed that there was a real need and that I seem suited to it.

And so, the new chapter lies ahead at the end of 2019.

It will be a personal new chapter as we move home and our financial position changes – no more salary! It will be a new ministry chapter as I move to the indicated roles. Already 2020 has part-time teaching at my present college; contract ministry training for an inland mission body; along with ministry training in Timor Leste, Indonesia, Uganda and South Africa. Onward!

Inevitably ahead on God’s horizon will be the decline of old age and eventually death. I do not look forward to this and will do what I can to delay it. I grieve what will be lost in older age: personal vitality and being able to serve others with contributions that make a difference. I lament the increasing inabilities of older age and increasing dependence on others. I do not fear death because of the work of Christ for me in his death and resurrection but do have anxiety about the dying process.

But for now, the message is onward. My text for the immediate horizon is:

·       Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:13-14).

And then for the next horizon:

·       I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Tim 4:7-8).

I do not call this coming phase ‘retirement’ but a new chapter. In doing so I am inspired by the prayer with which John Piper ends his book on retirement: Lord, spare me this curse. That too, is my prayer.

A life of 9s – 2009

A life of 9s – 2009

Previous posts in the Life of 9s series have spoken of my coming to faith (1969), entering on pastoral ministry (1979), transiting to educational ministry (1989) and moving back to pastoral ministry (1999). This post tells of the years 1999-2009 and then of a further transit back to educational work.

One Friday morning in late 2009

It was a normal Friday in Singapore which meant drafting and rehearsing a sermon, lunch and then an afternoon at the church office.  The phone rang in mid-morning. It was the new Principal of Presbyterian Theological Centre Sydney (later Christ College) asking to speak about an upcoming staff vacancy that he thought might suit me. The call was unwelcome as I hoped and expected to stay in Singapore when my contract came up for renewal in mid 2011.

A now-familiar feeling followed as he spoke. I could see why he was calling, felt some interest and had an unwanted intuition that this would come to pass. And so, it did. The story of that will be told later in this post, but first I speak of the years in between.

Senior minister of Orchard Road Presbyterian Church (ORPC) in Singapore

ORPC had been established in 1856 to serve the Scots in the colonial settlement and remained very Scottish until after WWII, when a NZ senior minister led the way to localise. The church buildings were a charming mix located on a main shopping street and not far from Istana and other public buildings.

When I arrived the church had English, Mandarin, Indonesian and German language services at the main campus and English, Mandarin and Indonesian services at the recently-established Bukit Batok branch church. A typical Sunday saw a large number of people spread over five services from 9am to a last service at 6pm.  The English congregation was overwhelmingly Asian in composition and many members were globalised high socio-economic people. After the Scottish years, there was a period of significant American influence in the church which helped turn it in an evangelical direction. About 27 pastoral staff and a range of administrative and housekeeping staff served this busy community. The church had ample finances and a sizeable set of buildings.

The remainder of the pastoral staff were Asian, but the senior minister had always been Caucasian. My brief was to be the last Caucasian senior minister and to help identify a local for the role. On arrival I could see why a local senior minister was desirable. As I came to know the history, complexity and culture of the church over the next year or so, I could see why it was difficult to achieve. 12 years or so later, my immediate successor was a Singaporean and his successor was a Hong Kong born Chinese-American – which was a sort of win.

My role was moderator of the whole church and senior minister of the English language congregation. The former involved chairing some meetings and combined services, some overall staff supervision and general responsibility. My main function was as senior minister of the English congregation. That being said, the annual Christmas Eve combined congregations’ communion service was a worship highlight as a large number came together to sing carols in their own tongue and share the symbols of atoning grace.

The English congregation had 9am and 6pm services and I did most preaching – often preaching two separate sermons. I had to adjust to a traditional Presbyterian liturgy with a magnificent pipe organ, robed choir and all that went with it. It was a thrill to preach to such a congregation and to stand behind the communion table (with the whiff of hundreds of tiny glasses of best Portuguese port floating up) and look across at people in whose lives I had invested and seen God at work.

I led an English pastoral staff team of five when I arrived and eight when I left. All bar one of the staff turned over during my watch, so staff selection, orientation, oversight, development and such like took much time. I enjoyed being part of a multi-member team. As I chose staff, I looked for people who would both fill gaps in the staff skill set and who showed promise of contributing to the team dynamic. I enjoyed these colleagues and have continued to take an active interest in them since leaving Singapore.

A year or so after my arrival I realised the need for a staff restructure. I developed a system where all staff except myself were attached to our various ministry committees (Christian education, congregational care, worship, missions and outreach, small groups). The committees were led by elders and deacons and the staff served as ‘key staff’ to support the ministry area with focussed attention. This helped develop ministry and gave all staff a discrete area for which to take responsibility. I took a selective interest in these ministry committees and sought to honour and respect the expertise of the relevant staff. I met with all staff on a regular basis (bi-monthly for most) to review against goals, set new goals, along with provide encouragement and guidance and work on staff development. Periodic staff retreats off-site gave opportunity to develop our bonds and cement team values.

I chaired the key English congregation governance meeting – firstly styled the Board and then the Session. This involved working with deacons and elders in the main meetings and in various committees. Presbyterian governance and ministry involved a careful balance between elected leaders and employed staff and, as senior minister, I was involved in more than a few moments of attending to that balance! Let the reader understand. I also took an active interest in the selection of new deacons and elders and spent many one on one hours with individual leaders.

Another significant act of leadership was to transform an old-style ladies fellowship into three discrete ministries of Events for Women; Activities for Women and Bible Study for Women. Each of these opened new avenues of service and usefulness. Another significant change was to oversee restructure of our small group ministry. The new scheme saw small groups sync with the overall mission of the church; parallel the pulpit in learning focus and recruit, develop and support a new generation of small group leaders. The number of groups expanded, and wider section of the congregation became involved.

Before going to Singapore, I attended a Melbourne course on church leadership to help me re-tool for ORPC as I realised some of the challenges ahead in a return to pastoral work after a 10 year gap, going into a large and complex church organisation and serving in a cross and multicultural setting. One fruit of this course was a decision that I would not try and be at everything that happened in the church or micro-manage.

Key functions of a pastor are to feed, lead and care for God’s people. I have described my feeding and leading activities at ORPC above.

What of caregiving? We had a congregational care pastor who took the lead in this area, but I invested selectively. I did my share of funerals (there were many such in a large church) and had a range of individuals whom I visited when ill, or as frail-aged homebound. My regular ‘list’ included some people with special needs, a young homosexual man imprisoned for drug offenses, a young woman with complex medical needs and a family troubled by mental health issues. Much of this was unseen and I know I was criticised for not doing more routine pastoral care. Indeed, I did not do as much as some, but in such a post I had to be selective in focus and my main pastoral care role was to ensure that someone one was doing routine pastoral care.

And now some ransom significant moments from the ORPC role:

·       - The earth moving beneath one wing of our building and having to relocate to the church hall and a tent for some months;

·       - The many late-night calls to hospital to baptise late-life conversions of the parents of church members whose funerals I conducted soon after;

·       - The tragic case of a man who said he would convert after his father’s funeral and who had a fatal seizure at that funeral;

·       - The dreadful and frequent drive to Mandai for funerals;

·       - The shock of seeing a pastoral staff collapsing while conducting a funeral that and dying a few days later;

·       - A wedding that was cancelled just a few hours before it was due to happen;

·       - The thrill of forming new families as brides walked down the aisle to their waiting husbands;

·       - Membership services where up to 40 new people would be received at one go by adult baptism, confirmation or transfer;

·       - The occasional monkey intrusion to church buildings;

·       - Baptising the first convert from Islam in the history of ORPC;

·       - Seeing the grace of forgiveness, reconciliation and renewal in the lives of many;

·       - The grandeur of the 150^th anniversary celebrations in 2006;

·       - Feeling overwhelmed at the flow of money through the church and the remarkable generosity of some people;

·       - The circumstances around leaving ORPC and the last moments on the day we flew out.

Extra ministries

As is normal in any ministry, several extras crept into my schedule. These includes adjunct teaching of whole courses at Trinity Theological College, Singapore Bible College and occasional teaching at Discipleship Training Centre Singapore – along with a pop-up seminary for EAST in Chiang Mai. I taught a Christian Education workshop in Hanoi and did some preaching in Batam (Indonesia) and Pontian (Malaysia), along with church camps in Indonesia and Malaysia. Other activities included writing a regular column for the Presbyterian Church of Singapore (PCS) periodic publication and speaking at PCS seminars.

These all involved extra work in preparation and delivery but were personally fulfilling and kept my wider gifts in use.

In late 2009 I made my first teaching visit to Timor Leste at the request of Australian Presbyterian World Mission. I was to teach a week long course on Presbyterianism to the newly-forming Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Timor Leste. I flew overnight into Darwin one Sunday and then an early morning flight into Dili where I was greeted by Australian soldiers with guns at the ready.  Timor Leste was still in its fragile post-independence state and the church even more raw. I taught for a week at Liquica, west of Dili, where we were accommodated in the house of some Portuguesa missionaries. The teaching was in a basically-equipped church building with no teaching aids and involved translation into Tetun. We ate on site, drank copious quantities of water and ate local foods including a salad gathered from under the ocean. This was to be the first of what proved to be many visits to Timor Leste over following years.

Family

For Glenda and I these were significant family years.

We left two children in Australia and took one with us for the first 2.5 years. It was our first experience of overseas living. We had to adapt to a new setting. We had to manage home contact with two widowed mothers and our children as they transited through various early-adulthood stages and events. Glenda went through cancer treatment and our youngest son went through some sport’s injury surgery. Our first grandchild was born, and my mother died. We became empty-nesters at the end of 2001.

Singapore was an easy place for us to live. My workplace provided good support as we settled in. English was widely spoken, and traffic drove on the same side of the road as in Australia. It was safe, stable, clean and predictable. Singapore just ’worked’, in notable contrast to some regional countries. We enjoyed local food, managed the tropical climate and enjoyed the freedom of condo living. I enjoyed daily year-round swimming and we learnt to navigate public transport and local roads (my contract included a car).

These were also marvellous years as we made new friends, enjoyed local culture, lived a privileged lifestyle, had the buzz of significant work and enjoyed easy and regular travel within Asia and to Europe. We had never expected such global access. We both globalised to some extent and I went-local to some extent.

Personal

My ‘going local’ was partly symbolised by becoming a Singapore Permanent Resident and coming to like Durian. The PR thing was done so I could solemnise marriages but was a surprisingly emotional moment for me as I realised a sense of belonging. I found myself looking disdainfully at Australia and has less interest in events there. Locals told me that I was one of them and I felt it to some extent. But only to some extent – there would be regular occasions when I knew I would always be an outsider who would never understand local ways from the inside. Craig Storti speaks of various stages of cultural adaptation and at the odd moment when I felt that I had obtained unconscious competence I learned to expect that an episode of unconscious incompetence was not far away.

I mention local friends. It can be hard for pastors to make and maintain friends as you move about and there is ongoing debate about the wisdom of forming friendships in the church you pastor. My view is that it is odd not to form friendships in the church that you pastor, but that there are natural boundaries around these friendships and many of them will end when you move on. Through Glenda’s work at the Australian International School (where she was Head of English) we formed contacts in the expat Australian community but few were real friendships. We had plenty of acquaintances in church, but it took a few years to develop friendships that went beyond my role. It was a big moment when some started to know and treat us as people separate from our roles. I made some close local friendships that continue many years later.

Singapore represents the longest ministry I have had and the longest I have lived in any one location. It has significantly formed my identity is a place that I expect to love and take an interest in to the end of my days. There is a strong sense of home there and I had to grapple with homesickness and a sense of lost identity when we left.

The ORPC post prompted much growth in my pastoral skills as I had never seen anything like it before. The church was generous in providing annual paid conference leave. I attended a conference in the UK and did a 10 days internship at All Soul’s London which I saw as a model for what ORPC could be. For several years I attended Spurgeon Sabbatical at Gordon-Conwell seminary north of Boston. It was a long trip over there with an 11pm departure after a busy ministry Sunday, but Spurgeon became a real lifeline in my self-care and development routines. Other elements of self-care were regular exercise (swimming and running), well-guarded weekly days off; a private home life and taking annual leave.

I worked long weeks at church but don’t think I suffered unduly for this and certainly enjoyed the buzz. All pastoral ministry is hard and ORPC certainly had many times of heartbreak and heartache, coupled with constant stress and pressure. But really, I had the time of my life.

Moving on

Unknown to me, that Friday phone call in late 2009 was to result in a change of direction. As 2010 unfolded there were two clear paths ahead – the teaching post at PTC Sydney or staying at ORPC. My wish was clear and strong – to stay at ORPC. But PTC persisted to the extent of setting the closing date for applications to fit with a key ORPC meeting. I prepared an application for PTC but neither expected nor wanted to use it. To my surprise, local events in late March 2010 made it clear that the application for PTC should be lodged. I recall taking phone calls from Sydney about the appointment when in a hospital ward with a dying church member and thinking how absurd this all was.

And so, in God’s timing, the decision was taken that I leave ORPC at the end of 2010 and move to the PTC teaching role. Once again, God was guiding my steps and using the present to prepare for the future.

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